Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Gawker

That's me. I confess, I can't look away when I see something out of the ordinary. I stare at car wrecks and usually thank my lucky stars it wasn't me, but first I stare and not from a caregiver's perspective. When I walk down the halls of a hospital, I can't help looking in the rooms. Maybe we can give that one to training as we're all taught to watch all patients, but still, I could be more discreet.

Tonight I watched a marathon of Hoarders, and while I personally find these kinds of shows distasteful, I don't stop watching. Can't. I'm amazed by how much crap one or two people can jam into their lives and wonder how they come to this--and then go on national tv and show the world. I think a part of me, while personally appalled, is secretly relieved that my dust bunnies hardly compare to the nightmare these hoarders live with. I felt compelled to get up and start going through my stuff to whittle things down. Don't worry, the feeling passed as soon as I changed the channel.

The other train wreck I can't seem to get enough of avoid is the Charlie Sheen debacle. Nope. Can't get enough.

I am not so certain Hoarders is real. My guess is it's filmed on a Hollywood set - they just replace the garbage for the different shows. It is not possible to live with that much garbage in a home. Secondly, do hoarders have agents and are they paid for their t.v. appearances? Trust me, it is staged. The hoarders are union actors.

Hoarders freeks me out to watch. My sister is a hoarder. I can't begin to totally understand it.

Charlie Sheen is in real trouble and has been for years. I pray that when this manic stage is over that he will get help. Of course he has to want help. Otherwise I am afraid that he will do harm to himself.

I didn't see the interview or show that he did and I can't find it on the internet....sites are too busy or something. I did like the show 2 1/2 men...mainly because of their maid. She is funny. I hope he gets the help he needs. From what little I have heard about all the talk is that he has a drug/drinking problem which turns you into someone you are not...or a bi-polar person that changes who you really are. I am sounding like I am an expert or something...which I am obviously not. I have known people who have these illnesses though. Hopefully he can get the medical attention he needs.

I had a patient who could be on the hoarders show. She had a huge home in the middle of a beautiful forrest... floor to ceiling windows. It was so jam packed with stuff, halls even had piles... I had to do my physical exam standing next to her wheelchair by the front door.

Once I watched (I was bored, okay?) an Oprah show where hoarders were helped to get rid of their stuff. It was amazing!Looking into rooms of patients is to me a different matter -it kind of belongs to your job to make sure things are okay -especially the floor you're working on!